Soccer:Former England manager Fabio Capello, hotly tipped to become Russia's new coach, has already been given the job, according to national team captain Andrei Arshavin.

“Russia’s national coach has been appointed - he is Fabio Capello. We wish him success in his new job,” Arshavin wrote on his personal website (www.arshavin.eu).

The 31-year-old Arsenal player – currently on loan at Zenit St Petersburg, is widely considered Russia’s most influential footballer, and could have had inside information into the affairs of the Russian FA (RFU). However, the Arsenal forward might have jumped the gun announcing Capello’s appointment as according to the official RFU line, talks with the 66-year-old Italian will continue next week.

Capello, who quit as England boss in February, came to Moscow on Thursday to meet Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko and acting RFU chief Nikita Simonyan. Mutko, who described the talks as “productive”, said the RFU would name a new coach early next week. Local media reports on Saturday claimed RFU would hold the final round of negotiations with Capello on Tuesday.